This was a fast-paced, well-written, with a comfortable tone making it easy to follow along with what the author had intended, quickly becoming a page-turner. When Ben is falsely accused of murder, he and his newly acquired friends start searching for the person responsible and find themselves in a whole lot of situations that some were amusing at best. The author did a fine job in telling this visually descriptive narrative with engaging dialogue, a cast of eclectic characters, and a small-town atmosphere that added to my delight in reading this book. When I thought I knew what was going on, the author changed direction, all to enhance my reading pleasure. I love the idea of a game board shop as the setting. This was a delightfully entertaining book and I look forward to more adventures with Ben, Ezra and their friends.

Ben Rosencrantz's life completely changed direction when he divorced his husband, quit his job as an English professor, and moved back to his hometown of Salt Lake City to care for his ailing dad and run the family board game shop. But the biggest change of all comes when a mysterious game collector shows up dead on the store's doorstep. With the help of the cute florist next door, Ben decides to put his Clue skills to use and try to solve the mystery before it kills his business.

I absolutely adore this queer cozy (AKA quozy) mystery! Ben is a quirky and endearing protagonist, and the whole community around the board game shop is incredibly charming. The book is full of fun board game references and nerdy jokes that made me laugh out loud. The central mystery is also compelling and unpredictable. This is going to be a killer series!

Board games, mystery and murder - oh my!

This was such a fun new cozy mystery debut novel by CJ Connor! It follows Ben who has moved home to Utah fresh off the heels of a divorce to care for his ailing father & adorable chihuahua (named Beans 😻) while helping to run his family’s game shop. While he is settling back into his hometown, sparking a budding romance with the local flower shop owner, running weekly game nights and figuring out the finances of the business - the unthinkable happens! A man is murdered right at the shop’s front door!! The same man who was turned away after trying to sell Ben a sketchy once in a lifetime rare board game at a fraction of the value! As if that wasn’t stressful enough - a backpack full of cash lands on his doorstep placing Ben at the top of the suspect list!
I absolutely loved Board to Death! Full of so much amateur sleuthing, a budding love interest, hilarious Utah references, family, board games, friendship, social commentary, queer representation, adorable animals, mystery, twists and turns - I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here!

*Also, this book has reignited my love for board games and I may or may not have ordered a couple after reading 😹

Pick up Board to Death when it hits shelves 8.22.2023!

Thank you so much to Kensington Books for the advanced copy!

I'm happy to see a cozy with a main character in the LGBTQ+ community, as I think we need to see ALL communities represented in solving totally unrealistic murder mysteries :>D However, I find Ben to be kind of annoying. He just comes across to me as borderline whiny and ineffectual. And, this reads more like a romance novel at times than like a cozy mystery. So as a specific character, Ben isn't my favorite. The plotting feels kind of thin to me, too.

That said, a board game store setting has so many fabulous possibilities for a cozy series! And I feel like the overall setting of Utah (which is unfamiliar to me) is rendered in a believable way to me. Lots of interesting tidbits re LDS, the gay community, etc. And Ben's relationship with his dad is depicted in a subtle way. (I wish that same lighter touch had been used with Ben's relationship with Ezra, which feels about as subtle as an 18-wheeler.)

Some good potential here, and I'll be interested to see where it goes next.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first ever cozy mystery and I can definitely understand the appeal of the genre! I enjoyed all the quirky characters, the sticky situations Ben found himself in, and the adorable romance between Ben and Ezra. I certainly didn’t predict the ending which kept me reading. This was quick and easy and a lovely debut!

Very cute story and an easy read. Fell in love with the characters and believed in their romance. Only dropped a star because I predicted the twist since the beginning of the book and I prefer to have a bit of mystery.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest review.

I love seeing you more career cozy mysteries they're definitely isn't enough. Great plot and setting.

This book gave off all the quozy vibes. Ben was a relatable character and I enjoyed the relationships he had with all the other characters, especially Ezra (adorable). However, I did feel the mystery aspect was lacking a bit and I did find myself struggling to finish the story. I am new to cozy mysteries so I think I’m just more used to fast paced thrillers. Despite this though, I still liked the overall vibe and I’m looking forward to more books from this author.

I received an e-ARC of this through Netgalley. It is coming out in August.

Cozy, charming, funny murder mystery/gay romance. Main character Ben is slightly anxious, struggling to get his shit together in a relatable and endearing way (recent divorce, career change, dad is sick, and the family business is struggling) when he finds a very recently dead body, and things get even more chaotic. Love interest Ezra is a sweet Cinnamon Roll whose pursuit of Ben is such a gentle, thoughtful, slow burn, you will melt.

The narration has such a delightful voiceyness, I sincerely hope this is getting an audiobook, and I would revisit it to hear these scenes read by a professional. Honestly, reading the climactic scene, I found myself hoping it would be picked up for a movie.

Heat level is low: some kissing, hugging, hand-holding.

TL;DR: it's funny, it's cute, it's geeky, it's sweet, and the mystery plot is good. Read it!

Release Date: August 22, 2023

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Back in his hometown of Sugar House running his family’s board game shop and café, Ben Rosencrantz just can’t seem to get his life to pass go, much less collect $200. When he moves back to his hometown to care for his dad, he meets the flower shop owner, Ezra McCaslin, and enjoys flirting with him.
A local toy and game collector named Clive offers him a winning strategy to make his game shop a success. Clive has a turn-of-the-twentieth-century edition of The Landlord’s Game, the realty and taxation game that inspired Monopoly, for sale at a tenth of the rare edition’s true value. Suspicious of Clive’s shady, low-priced deal, Ben turns the offer down.

Then Clive turns up dead at the front door of Ben’s and a backpack full of $100 bills appears on his doorstep. Now Ben is the #1 suspect in Clive’s death, and unless he and Ezra can prove his innocence and find the real killer, he’ll go to jail for murder—and no amount of double dice rolls will set him free . . .

This is the first in the #boardgameshop mystery series. I really liked the characters, the developing flirtation between Ezra and Ben. Bean the chihuahua was a great pet character! I am excited to read the next book in the series and see how Ben and Ezra’s relationship develops.

#boardtodeath #aboardgameshopmystery #cjconnor
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This was the first book I've read from this author and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well written and the characters were well thought out.

I really liked the premise of this book- Queer Cozy! Yay! Execution fell short. Overexplaining, taking far too long to get to the meat of the story, and just boring. I skipped about ten chapters and honestly felt mostly satisfied with the story.
Willing to try another book by this author but need the pacing to improve drastically.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

I am a sporadic mystery reader. I find them to be fun and engaging and loved the premise of a Board Game Store murder mystery. Every the lover of an independent game store, the idea worked for me.

My likes: I enjoyed the father/son relationship and how it shifted during the story. I enjoyed the budding, though ill-timed, romantic relationship as well. These dynamics were my favorite parts of the book.

Beyond that, I really wish there was more atmosphere, namely the game store. I want to know what it looks and smells like. I want to know more about the clientele. I don't think the store itself was built up enough.

I wasn't sold on the killer either. It seemed a weaker thread.

Overall, this was fun and I would read another book in the series. And, now to master Nertz.

Board to Death is an engaging, cozy mystery with a unique setting that feels tangible to the reader. You're rooting for the romance, for the board game shop, for the health of Ben's father. Read for something cozy, heartfelt, and fun.

The mystery was fun and exciting. Lots of suspense and plenty of suspects. Loved the board game shop which is a new place for me. Usually I stay away from LGBTQ reads but I'm glad I tried this one. It turned out to be a fun read! Thanks#Netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Loved this cute cozy mystery! I’m so happy that I was introduced to CJ Connor. The story was great, flowed very well and the characters are very likeable. I’m looking forward to reading more of Connor’s work and hopefully continues with this cute series! Thank you CJ Connor, NetGalley and Kensington for this great ARC!

This book was quite a bit outside of my usual cozy zone. An LGBTQ+ cozy set in Utah in the board game industry, but even so, it added up to a fun mystery that I really enjoyed.

Loved the characters, including Ben, a former English professor in Seattle who is now running his family's board game shop and coffee cafe in Salt Lake City.. Ezra, the flower shop owner. Ben's father. Plus a bunch of quirky board game fans.

A decent murder plot. Enjoyable characters. Fun. Not to mention learning about various board games I'd never heard of before. After this, I want to read more, hopefully, in this series and would recommend it to fellow cozy fans.

This was a fun read! It was a bit outside of my comfort genre, but I love board games so was drawn in by the title and cover. It was a good mystery and I found myself along for the ride. I think this would be good for any mystery fans who want a quick easy read!

I had very high hopes for this book. A queer main character set in a cozy mystery at a board game shop?! Yes please! It had all the right elements but it did not come together. I thought the booked lacked the mystery element, the pacing was too slow and the book lacked any twists or turns. I understand it’s a cozy mystery but the book was too light on the mystery elements. The characters felt underdeveloped and I thought the plot could have used more work. I did like that the main character was gay, the cozy mystery genre is overrun with white female main characters that fall in love with the grumpy cop so it was refreshing to have a different point of view, I just needed the storyline to be more exciting.

The game is most certainly afoot in this delightfully queer cozy (quozy?) mystery. Amateur Sleuth Ben Rosencrantz is an adorably relatable introvert who will stop at nothing to save the family game shop. Board to Death had me dusting off my board game collection and reinstituting family game night. I can't wait to read more from C.J. Connor!